Twisted Circuits | Rhythm Traces - II For Buchla Music Easel, Musical Agent System, and Sonic Acceleration Box (Bela Gem)

Nicola Hein

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

The piece Twisted Circuits | Rhythm Traces - II focuses on the integration of the Sonic Acceleration Box (SAB), a synthesizer, drum machine, and multi-effect unit realized with Bela [5] Gem and programmed in SuperCollider [9], into the performative economy of the Buchla Music Easel. The SAB is programmed in SuperCollider and can be used as an additional synthesis voice and live electronics, or as a drum machine (with two distinct code sets). SAB uses a minimalistic interface, with a single Trill Square as a touch interface, and handles commands for multi-effect and synthesis algorithms via MIDI input (with SoftStep2 and Faderfox EC4). Housed in a 3D-printed case and attached to the Music Easel with 3D-printed hinges, it integrates with and extends the movement economy of the performer playing the Music Easel. The SAB is integrated into the performative economy of the Buchla Music Easel, extending the players’ motions during performance to the sides, thereby enabling new forms of motional and sonic polyphony. These motions are integrated with a unique skin-resistance controller that fundamentally alters the musical interpretation of the 1970s Buchla Music Easel, developing the body as part of the technical object [3]. Through this process, what develops is an augmented instrument, as an assemblage [1], that takes this instrument, but develops and changes it. Furthermore, the work employs a musical agent system, implemented in SuperCollider using the FluCoMa [10] library, that learns in real time from performers playing Buchla and SAB and operates in a player paradigm fashion [7,4], based on the musical material it has learned. The musical agent system can learn and adapt the instrument's tonal and rhythmic fluidity, extending its capabilities beyond its limits. H’s musical agent learns to interact musically, creating music in real time with H on the synthesizer and developing the interaction between a human and a machine-generated musical voice. The systemic economy of movement and the interaction with the AI musical agent create polyphonic rhythmic, tonal, and spatial structures and a performance ecosystem [8]. The piece focuses on the emergent Dances of Agency [6] between the human performer, the musical agent system, and DMI, developing a form of cybernetic listening [2]. Music Easel, SAB, and a musical agent system are individually live spatialised on the performance (multichannel) sound system, using different audio descriptors, which are translated into source positions in the ambisonics encoder.

Citation

Nicola Hein. 2026. Twisted Circuits | Rhythm Traces - II For Buchla Music Easel, Musical Agent System, and Sonic Acceleration Box (Bela Gem). Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782146 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_41,
 abstract = {The piece Twisted Circuits | Rhythm Traces - II focuses on the integration of the Sonic Acceleration Box (SAB), a synthesizer, drum machine, and multi-effect unit realized with Bela [5] Gem and programmed in SuperCollider [9], into the performative economy of the Buchla Music Easel. The SAB is programmed in SuperCollider and can be used as an additional synthesis voice and live electronics, or as a drum machine (with two distinct code sets). SAB uses a minimalistic interface, with a single Trill Square as a touch interface, and handles commands for multi-effect and synthesis algorithms via MIDI input (with SoftStep2 and Faderfox EC4). Housed in a 3D-printed case and attached to the Music Easel with 3D-printed hinges, it integrates with and extends the movement economy of the performer playing the Music Easel. The SAB is integrated into the performative economy of the Buchla Music Easel, extending the players’ motions during performance to the sides, thereby enabling new forms of motional and sonic polyphony. These motions are integrated with a unique skin-resistance controller that fundamentally alters the musical interpretation of the 1970s Buchla Music Easel, developing the body as part of the technical object [3]. Through this process, what develops is an augmented instrument, as an assemblage [1], that takes this instrument, but develops and changes it. Furthermore, the work employs a musical agent system, implemented in SuperCollider using the FluCoMa [10] library, that learns in real time from performers playing Buchla and SAB and operates in a player paradigm fashion [7,4], based on the musical material it has learned. The musical agent system can learn and adapt the instrument's tonal and rhythmic fluidity, extending its capabilities beyond its limits. H’s musical agent learns to interact musically, creating music in real time with H on the synthesizer and developing the interaction between a human and a machine-generated musical voice. The systemic economy of movement and the interaction with the AI musical agent create polyphonic rhythmic, tonal, and spatial structures and a performance ecosystem [8]. The piece focuses on the emergent Dances of Agency [6] between the human performer, the musical agent system, and DMI, developing a form of cybernetic listening [2]. Music Easel, SAB, and a musical agent system are individually live spatialised on the performance (multichannel) sound system, using different audio descriptors, which are translated into source positions in the ambisonics encoder.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {41},
 author = {Nicola Hein},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782146},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {171--176},
 presentation-video = {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjXoZVD5jvU},
 title = {Twisted Circuits | Rhythm Traces - II For Buchla Music Easel, Musical Agent System, and Sonic Acceleration Box (Bela Gem)},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_41.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}